Screen door latch



Feb. 11, 1941. GERARD ET AL I 2,231,443

SCREEN DOOR LATCH Filed April 19, 1940 27 I MJh/M W Patented Feb. 11,1941 SCREEN noon LATCH Frank B. Gerard and Henry G. Voight, New Haven,Conn, assignors to Sargent & Company, New Haven, Conn, a corporation ofConnecticut Application April 19, 1940, Serial No. 330,441 2 Claims.(01.292-169) This invention relates to door latches, and more especiallyto a door latch of simple character and capable of being made in smallsizes to be used with doors of light weight, such as screen doors,

for example. I

The structure to which the invention is applied is a so-called tubularlock in that the mechanism is mounted in a tubular or cylindrical casewhich may be inserted in a bore or cylindrical opening made through thefront edge of the door. The operating spindle is designed to be insertedthrough a transverse bore which intersects the first, the spindlepassing through openings in the lock case and engaging the latchmechanism within the case to actuate. the same.

Such latches are not required to be of expensive design, nor ofexcessive weight or strength, and it is contemplated in the presentinvention that a latch be provided which will be of simple 2 andinexpensive construction, but which will at the same time be positive inoperation and which may be easily assembled and applied to the door witha minimum of labor.

One object of the present invention is the pro- 25 vision of a tubularlatch consisting of a minimum number of parts, which may beinexpensively manufactured and assembled.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a simple andinexpensive screen door latch which may be mounted in the door with aminimum of labor.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a tubularlatch mechanism in which a tubular latch bolt is mounted to reciprocatein a tubular casing, the bolt having assembled therewith a rollbackwhich is held in association with the bolt by the case itself, and whichrollback serves to correctly limit the forward movement of 40 the boltto a position in which the spindle openings in the rollback and case arealigned for the reception of the spindle.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a latch ofthe character described,

45 which latch will have a minimum number of inexpensive parts, whichparts are held in proper relation by the casing of the latch, and bytheir engagement with the casing are aligned with the spindle openingstherein for insertion of the 50 operating spindle.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features andcombinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing: 55 Fig. 1 is an elevational view of aportion of a door having the improved latch mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the door;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view through the latch casing on line 3-3of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view taken at right 5 angles-to Fig. 3 online 44 of this figure;

Figs. 5 and 6 are transverse sectional views on lines 5- 5 and 6--5,respectively, of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a partial top plan view of the latch case; and v 10 Fig. 8 isa side elevational view of the latch bolt.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of our invention, we have shown inFigs. 1 and 2 a fragmentary portion of a door It having roses H and I2mounted upon each side thereof, and a spindle 15 I3 passing through thedoor and roses, thespindle being of non-circular shape in cross-sectionand having mounted upon one end a knob l4 and on the other end a handleI5. It will be understood in the present instance that the spindle has asupport in the roses II and I2, and does not have a rotatable bearing inthe latch case, which will be described more particularly hereinafter.

A 'unitary. or one-piece latch case of tubular or cylindrical shape isshown at l6, and, as is apparent, this latch may be inserted in acircular opening drilled in the door from the front edge thereof. Theforward portion of the case l6 may be flared slightly, as shown at [1.As initially made, the case is open at both ends, and slots I8 and H!are provided at diametrically opposite sides of the case, which slotsopen through the rear end thereof, and terminate in shoulders 20 and 2|intermediate the ends of the case. The latch case is also provided withopposed openings 22 and 23 to permit the passage therethrough of thespindle I3.

The latch bolt, shown more especially in Figs.

3, 4 and 8, comprises a member having front and rear portions 24 and 25of circular cross section to snugly fit the inside of the case I6 andguide the latch in its reciprocatory movements. The front end 2 will bebeveled, as shown at 26, as is usual in latches of this character.Between the ends 24 and 25 the bolt is recessed to provide a portion 21of segmental shape in cross section, as shown more particularly in Figs.4 and 6, and toward its rear end the bolt is provided with guide lugs 28and 29 which project upwardly and downwardly from the rounded surfacesof the bolt into 5 the slots I8 and IS. The bolt will thus be guided inthese slots in its reciprocatory movements, and prevented from rotating.

The lugs 28 and 29 are rounded upon their inner surfaces, as shown at 39and 3|, and, as will be apparent from Fig. 5, these lugs projectlaterally from the portion 21 of the bolt'as well as verti-,

cally. Between the rounded portions 30 and 3| of these lugs, and in asegmental recess 32 in the rear end 25 of the bolt, is seated a rollbackhub 33, so that this hub will be free to rotate with respect to thebolt. As shown more particularly in Fig. 5, the hub projects laterallyfrom the portion 21 of the bolt beyond the lugs 28 and 29, so as to bearagainst the wall of the case at the points 34 and 35, shown in Figs. 5and 6, thus holding the rollback hub in assembled relation with the boltwhen the bolt and hub are within the latch case.

The rollback hub 33 is provided with projecting arms 31 and 33 extendinginto the slots l8 and I9 between the forward ends of the lugs 28 and 29and the shoulders 23 and 21 defining the forward ends of the slots.These shoulders may be slightly rounded to conform to the shape of thearms 31 and 38, and facilitate rotatable motion of the rollback. It willbe apparent that these arms limit the forward movement of the bolt androllback mechanism in the case l6, and that when the rollback and boltare assembled and placed in the case, with the arms 31 and 38 againstthe shoulders 20 and 2|, the noncircular spindle opening 39 in therollback will be aligned with the openings 22 and 23 in the latch case,so that the spindle may be inserted through the case.

The bolt is provided with an elongated opening 43 through which thespindle passes, the opening being elongated to permit reciprocatingmovement of the bolt with respect to the spindle. It will be understoodthat the spindle will be of the same shape in cross section as theopening 39 in the hub of the rollback, and the openings 22 and 23 may beof any shape that will be sufficiently large to permit rotation of thenoncircular spindle l3. It will be seen that the hub and spindle have nobearing in the latch case itself except for the engagement of the hubagainst the wall of the case on one side and the bolt on the other, thehub being supported on the spindle which has a bearing in the roses.

The bolt is urged to a forward position by a compression spring 42 whichacts against the portion 25 of the bolt and a cover 43 for the rear endof the latch case. This cover may be provided with cars 44 to bereceived in the slots I8 and I9, and may be held in place in any desiredway, as for example peening over the adjacent edge of the case 16.

While we have shown and described a preferred embodiment of ourinvention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all ofthe details shown, but is capable of modification and variation withinthe spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a door latch, a tubular case, a bolt slidably mounted in the caseand having a recessed portion between its ends, a rollback positioned insaid recess, said rollback bearing against the bolt at one side andagainst the wall of the case at the other side, said case having slotsin its opposing walls, said bolt having guide lugs operating in saidslots, said rollback having arms engaging said lugs, said arms extendinginto said slots to engage one end of each thereof and limit forwardmovement of the bolt, and a spindle rotatably mounted on the door andextending through said rollback.

2. In a door latch, a tubular case, a bolt slidably mounted in the caseand having a recessed portion between its ends, a rollback positioned insaid recess, said rollback bearing against the bolt at one side andagainst the wall of the case at the other side, said case having slotsin its opposing walls, said bolt having guide lugs operating in saidslots, said rollback having arms engaging said lugs, said arms extendinginto said slots to engage one end of each thereof and limit forwardmovement of the bolt, said case and rollback having openings registeringwhen the bolt is at the limit of its forward movement, and a spindlerotatably mounted on the door and extending through said rollback.

FRANK B. GERARD. HENRY G. VOIGHT.

